Ten from the Line welcomes Greg Gagne

The Somerset High grad and two-time World Series champion with the Minnesota Twins returns to his old school to take 10 free throws.

More than two-and-a-half years after trying to start the project, Ten from the Line finally got its man.

Somerset High School graduate Greg Gagne, the two-time World Series champion with the Minnesota Twins, stepped to the free-throw line at the soon-to-be-demolished Somerset Berkley Regional High School Veterans Gymnasium recently for his 10 free throws. It was at this gym back in the fall of 2011 that Gagne, following his daughter’s Bishop Stang volleyball match at SBR, was actually warming up for a TFL appearance.

Due to a camera (or camera carrier) malfunction, we were unable to video that day and the Gagne project subsequently landed on the back burner.

A football and baseball star during his Somerset High School days, Gagne did play freshman basketball and he got a kick out of returning to his old school for probably the last time. With the shiny new SBRHS just about done, the days of the tired original facility are very short, though the gym may be the last part of the building to go. Where it stands will soon be soccer fields, according to the school’s new principal, David Lanczycki, who graciously served as our rebounder.

“I wasn’t bad. We had a pretty good team,” Gagne said of his freshman hoops season. “I remember I scored 28 points or something (in a game). That was it. That was the highlight of my basketball career here.”

The Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer also shared his thoughts on the late Kirby Puckett, one of his favorite teammates in Minnesota, on the incredibly loud Metrodome, and on high school physical education classes. And he gave a few observing students a friendly hard time.

Gagne, 52, became the second ex-major leaguer to appear on Ten from the Line, joining Bill “Spaceman” Lee, co-holder (with comedian Jimmy Tingle) of the TFL record 8 for 10.

To see if Gagne was able to make it a three-way tie for highest honors in TFL history, click on the video.